News

We are delighted to announce that DJ Jason Kelly will be on the air on Friday nights from 8,00 pm to 9.00 pm with Jason’s Jukebox.  

Back on air after a very long time it’s Martin Trodden with Classic Love songs – Fridays between 9.00 pm and  10.00 pm.

# Description Make Model Asking Price Sound Desk Soundcraft & Amp RM105 450 -reserved Sound Desk KAM KCM350 30.00 Sound Desk Alesis Multimix 25.00 Sound Desk Soundcraft (DWR 02-03) & Amp DM1000 50.00 Headphone Distributor Behringer   30.00 Mini Disc Deck Tascam MD350 80.00 Mini Disc Deck Tascam MD350 80.00 30 Band EQ Ultragraph Pro31 100.00 Sound Desk Behringer Eurorack MBX1002 40.00 DVD Player Pioneer   20.00 Mini Disc Desk Sony   80.00 Unit Rack     60.00 Studio Link Transmitter CTE 2GHz 300.00 Studio Link Receiver CTE 2GHz 300.00 Microphone – Condenser Behringer B1 25.00 Radio Samsung HTDS150 20.00 Stereo System JVC   15.00 Digital Projector HP   25.00 Dehumidifier     10.00 TV Akura   20.00 Car Immobiliser Sparkrite   10.00 Security Camera Qvis Labs P400 10.00 Stage Lights Pair Spectre   60.00 Headphone Distributor Powerplay Pro   100.00 Amplifier Europower EP2500 200.00 Amplifier Sony FE370 50.00

Notes from the Remote Broadcast Q and A Session 5.00 pm – 6.30 pm 23rd April 2020 Tracey Hanby, Alan Byrne, Cathal McCooey, Philip O’Brien, Mary Rose Muckian, Pat Byrne, David Bellew, Sean Callaghan (Marian Del Duca and Padraig Quigley had signed out before we took a class snap). Seoirse McCann was presenting the Drive Time show and unable to attend but we kept an mp3 file for reference. We will run a follow up on Thursday 30th April 2020 at 5.00 pm. PC/Laptop Microphones A plug-in mic and headphones are preferable unless you will be on air for just a short interview, then the PC or laptop or phone audio will suffice. A mic or headset in the €5 to €30 range. Gaming mics will also be a step up in the audio quality. Recording Shows Sean will record a show each week with David using Zoom. There is a belated birthday present on the way to him from Dundalk FM to help with the next Beaten Tracks show! Marian and Charles will record the Health and Well Being programme via Zoom as two 22 minute shows and email them to David. 100 Years of Music – 60 names so far, 40 to go… https://dundalkfm.ie/about-us/schedule/shows/100-years-of-music/   2000 Tracey 1995 Mary Rose will record links on the phone (say a link, count to five silently, say the next link and so on….) and email them to David along with the list of songs. 1992 Philip 1968 Sean will record this show with David on Zoom. 1955 Pat has this completed and will send it in. If you know someone who would like to do a show, please let them know, I’d like to have 100 presenters, especially people who would like to join the station as a presenter in the future. Shows completed so far are available to listen to anytime on our Mixcloud page. https://www.mixcloud.com/DundalkFMMixcloud/ Spotlight Pat – one done and will send it in. Examples where Zoom could be used as part of live programming The Slane Concerts Show with Cathal in the Studio and Pat on Zoom (or in the Production Studio). Lion’s Club – the sound quality of the pre-recorded show is very good. The show could be done live via Zoom as is the Brunch. Joining Paddy to present on Good Morning Dundalk /Tracey Hosting a panel discussion on Town Talk. Fadó Fadó is pre-recorded via Zoom. The Brunch is broadcast live and had 2 guests from the Chamber of Commerce join them last week. One guest used a headset (approx €25 and the audio quality was very high). Some audio is better e.g. where presenters are using USB or plugin Mics. Sound Desks A sound desk with faders rather than pots starts around the €80 mark. Local stores that would source a Sound Desk, recorders, and other audio equipment are B Sharp and Audio Comm. Audio Editing Philip recorded an AlphaBeats show on Audacity. This is free to download. Pat uses Reaper (you can use the full version free, to evaluate it, the cost to buy is €60). If you want to learn Reaper – see the tutorial on the Dundalk FM youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/dundalkfmradio Remote Broadcasting You would need 1 x laptop to play out your music, ads, news, etc. You can download WinAmp for free. Another Free Radio Playout software used by many CR stations is Zara. A mic, mic stand and pop shield. An external sound card. 1 laptop which runs a small encoding programme that you download and type in the details for our server. A member of staff will run a series of tests with a presenter to ensure the audio and music levels are correct and that there is no buffering. A wired Ethernet cable connecting the router and laptop is advisable. Broadcast Myself is an Android App (€3.09). Alan uses this app at away soccer matches to transmit the commentary and half time ads (saved as one file).   This evening’s chat was a chance for presenters who hadn’t met in person before to say hello. There was a wonderful sense of ‘we’re in this together’ which was demonstrated by being able to help colleagues with technical advice. I hope that you now have the confidence to try out the next step in remote recording and broadcasting – recording to a phone, recording on Zoom, audio editing, acquiring radio equipment and maybe someday – live remote broadcasting. For the kind words of appreciation for the support that you receive from staff, thank you. Alan   Below you will find tutorials to help you record and edit programming from home. How to record Links to your Smart Phone. How to Edit a Radio Show at Home. The first describes how to record links for a show with a Voice Recorder App, your Smart Phone, your script and a room with soft furnishings. You can then share the files to our staff. We will prepare the show for broadcast. Recorded and edited by David Bellew with thanks to Tara Tine/ March 2020.   The real enjoyment starts when you start to edit, top and tail, fade in and out, normalise, increase and decrease the amplitude, the dynamics processing and filtering. This next tutorial will show you how to combine the links, songs and any intro, outros or stings and render it into an mp3 file. In the next tutorial, you will learn advanced expert tips on EQ, Noise Removal and Compression using plug-ins.  

  Seoirse McCann promotes independent Irish rock and Indie Music by bands like The Minutes, The Bonnevilles, Empty Lungs, The Gakk, The Selections, New Valley Wolves,Fight Like Apes, Cult Called Man, Trucker Diablo, The Hot Sprockets, Bitch Falcon, Mindriot, Crow Black Chicken and Sons of Southern Ulster.  

    Living with the Border – an eight part Radio Documentary by Tom Brady.   The Border is deeply symbolic and politically significant. But for those who live or have lived near the political boundary, it is a matter of ordinary efforts of dealing with its practical presence in everyday life. This became more difficult during the period of the troubles from early 1970’s to the mid-1990’s when crossing the border meant being subject to both Customs and Army or Police checkpoints. Paramilitary violence was at its height and there were casualties on all sides. Border crossing points were reduced, unapproved roads were blocked and watchtowers were erected. However daily life for the Border people had to go on, and the stories of the participants portray this in a light-hearted way. Living with the Border is a series of eight half-hour programmes documenting the life and times of people living and working along the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Tom Brady’s shows are light-hearted but also capture fascinating stories from a broad section of people, particularly the unheard voices of farmers, business people, train drivers, public representatives and teachers who lived and worked both sides of the north Louth Border.   How the border came into being. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 came into effect on 3rd May 1921 and provided for self-governing parliaments for Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, thus partitioning Ireland. The Irish Treaty contained a provision that would establish a Boundary Commission, which could adjust the border as drawn up in 1920. A Tripartite Boundary Agreement was signed in December 1925 delineating the borderline. ‘Northern Ireland shall consist of the parliamentary counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, and the parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, and Southern Ireland shall consist of so much of Ireland as is not comprised within the said parliamentary counties and boroughs’. A Commission consisting of three persons, one to be appointed by the Government of the Irish Free State, one to be appointed by the Government of Northaern Ireland and one who shall be Chairman to be appointed by the British Government shall determine in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions, the boundaries between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland, and for the purposes of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and of this instrument, the boundary of Northern Ireland shall be such as may be determined by such Commission’. The border reshaped political and social realities across the entire island. For those who lived in close quarters with the border, partition was also a personal occurrence and implicated on everyday life. Mundane activities such as shopping, visiting families, travelling to church, farming (with some farms straddling the border), were often complicated by customs restrictions, checkpoints and cratered roads etc. The border cut off natural hinterlands, separated communities and neighbours that had lived together for years. While the hardships people suffered as a result of the border have been well documented, these programmes intend to look at the funnier side of living along the border. 1. Pat McCourt Pat is a former Businessman in Dundalk and his stories centre around his dealings with Catholics and Protestants across the Border. Prior to the troubles, bus loads of shoppers’ from Northern Ireland came to Dundalk to buy goods, especially on the 12th July, the day of Orange Marches in Northern Ireland. Pat served on the Dundalk Town Council and he will talk about Crowe Street incident in 1978. He attended funerals of those killed on blood Sunday on 13/1/1972 in Derry. He also talks about unapproved and approved roads in relation to the Customs and Excise work that he did.   2. John McGuinness John was a Bus Eireann driver on tours to Northern Ireland, before, during and after the troubles. The railway line at Kilnasaggart Bridge directly on the border was regularly bombed and he had to passengers from Dundalk to Newry and back by bus. He drove the bus across the border when other drivers refused. John drove his bus across the Border at the time when Judge Gibson and his wife were blown up in a bomb on the main Dundalk to Newry Road (he saw the smoke of the bomb). A mob in Dundalk tried to hijack the bus he was driving as they were on their way to attack Dundalk Garda Station in 1972 (the station was attacked and cars burnt and petrol bombs were thrown into the Garda Station). 3. Joe Mulligan Joe is a retired Principal Teacher of Sheelagh National School near Crossmaglen. The school in the Parish of Crossmaglen. Joe remembers what life was like as a teacher in a Border School, prior to, during and after the troubles.   4. Joe Quinn Joe had a shop in Hackballscross (next to Crossmaglen) for a number of years. He is native of Co Offaly and lived in America for a time. He is related to Brian Cowen, former Taoiseach. John moved to Hackballscross as his late wife was from the area. John will tell us about his first impressions on coming into contact with border, how currency fluctuations impacted his business, running two currency tills and his views on Brexit from EU. 5. Mona Daly Mona was brought up in the border town of Carrickmacross. Her father was a businessman and she recalls her memories of crossing the border with her father on business. Mona lives in Dundalk and she talks about what the realities of family life and how she feels the people of Dundalk and the area have a different outlook on life because of their experiences of checkpoints, low flying helicopters (go by in twos for safety), young armed soldiers, flags, identity and the fear of travelling into parts of the North etc. 6. Leonard Hatrick Leonard Hatrick lived in Ardee for 60 years emigrated to England in 1972 for a while

  Ready Steady…Go! 28 July 2019   [podcast title=”RSG1 Part 1 Alvaro Lucchesi, Rory Moore & Tracey Hanby”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wRSG0180310-Alvaro-Lucchesi-Tracey-Hanby-Rory-Moore-Part-1.mp3[/podcast]   [podcast title=”RSG1 Part 2 Alvaro Lucchesi Rory Moore & Tracey Hanby”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wRSG0180310-Alvaro-Lucchesi-Tracey-Hanby-Rory-Moore-Part.mp3[/podcast]   [podcast title=”RSG2 Part 1 Karl Collins, Anita Guest & Kevin Larney”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wRSG0180324-Karl-Collins-Anita-Guest-Kevin-Larney-Part-1.mp3[/podcast]   [podcast title=”RSG2 Part 2 Karl Collins, Anita Guest & Kevin Larney”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wRSG0180324-Karl-Collins-Anita-Guest-Kevin-Larney-Part.mp3[/podcast]   [podcast title=”RSG3 Part 1 Marian Del Duca, Philip O Brien, Caoimhe O Malley and Tony Banda”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wRSG0180407-Marian-Del-Duca-Philip-O-Brien-Caoimhe-O-Malley-Tony-Banda-Part-1.mp3[/podcast]     [podcast title=”RSG3 Part 2 Marian Del Duca, Philip O Brien, Caoimhe O Malley and Tony Banda”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wRSG0180407-Marian-Del-Duca-Philip-O-Brien-Caoimhe-O-Malley-Tony-Banda-Part.mp3[/podcast] Tony Banda: Hello Alan, just to say thanks for the opportunity to be part of the show, that was a great experience of roundtable on topics shared and I believe this will continue with interesting topics for the other shows to come.   [podcast title=”RSG4 Part 1 Ciaran Callan Marissa Lucchesi Steven Jiminez”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wRSG40180428-Marissa-Lucchesi-Ciaran-Callan-Steven-Jiminez-Part-1.mp3[/podcast] [podcast title=”RSG4 Part 2 Ciaran Callan, marissa Lucchesi and Steven Jiminez”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wRSG40180428-Marissa-Lucchesi-Ciaran-Callan-Steven-Jiminez-Part.mp3[/podcast]